Members matterday Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 How much is a handwired Vox AC30 with Blues? $2000? For $2100 you can get a Dr. Z Maz 38 with reverb or $1900 without reverb. Not really that big of a price difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaXu Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 The way I see it, boutique amps often have features that you won't find on your typical Marshall/Fender/Vox or whatever production amp. They don't necessarily sound better, but I certainly value things like really good master volumes over having to crank a Marshall to get it to sound any good at all. Many boutique amps also have a twist on a classic tone that may be exactly what you've been looking for. At least here in Finland the boutique amps aren't actually that much more expensive than some production amps. My Diezel combo cost me less than an equivalent Mesa for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alchemist Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 With the recent price hikes from Fender and Marshall and the generally high prices from Mesa.... most boutique brands are actually more affordable.... Reeves and Dr Z for example build some excellent amps and most are priced well within reach of musicians with average budgets... look inside a nice boutique amp then take a look in a modern marshall or fender.... then think about where your money is going.... you will likely realise that you arent paying a premium for the boutique brand... you are actually paying a premium for the major name (marshall, vox, fender etc)... because it sure as hell isnt going into quality components.... but I guess someone has to pay for zakk wylde to pose with all those MG mini stacks in guitar world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members teemuk Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 A lot of the boutique amps use better components, have better customer service (less amps in the marketplace = less customers to deal with), and are more reliable than any off the shelf Guitar Center amp. I'm not saying those aren't great amps, either.That doesn't apply to every single amp, obviously. Obviously. Then again, there are also boutique builders who wish to have you pay half up in front, then build your amp for a year or two and get pissed when you ask about their progress or simply inquire some tech support for the amp you bought from them. Some boutique names are just plain crooks who never even deliver the amp. Then there seems to be quite a many builders who get terminally ill and just vanish. Other boutique companies gradually turn into the Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members glenecho Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 I'm completely behind boutique builders that are trying to create something new. I'm not into clone builders who charge amazingly inflated prices. That's all I have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alchemist Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 . That's all I have to say. I agree with that.... BUT I completely support the clone builders who offer a quality product at a reasonable price... because if you want a handwired 18 watter from Marshall or a 5e3 or other vintage style tweeds from Fender you are likely going to pay up to 2x what a boutique clone builder will charge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Anomaly Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 I don't agree with a lot of you guys. I've been playing for 29 years, and have owned various Rivera, Marshall, Fender, H & K, Mesa, and Peavey tube amps, (various modeling/SS amps, and rack gear), and now own a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia. Now, it is a single channel amp without features, but is by FAR the best clean tone I've ever gotten, and it costs $1049 new. Contrary to what sixtonoize said, nothing I've owned out from a store sounds "90-95% as good and costs 1/5 the price". I also now have a Fulltone OCD, one of the best if not THE best OD pedal I've ever heard, and again, nothing I've found sounds "90-95% as good and costs 1/5 the price" ($159 new). So, I have a GREAT (not just very good) two channel amp setup for around $1200. I think people put "boutique" gear under this umbrella that they all cost $3,000 and are unreachable. Simply not true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alchemist Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 . its easy to forget that everyone on the internet is an expert on everything.... I doubt many people have even seen half the gear they claim to be experts on............... there is a lot of boutique gear that is very affordable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members matterday Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 I don't agree with a lot of you guys. I've been playing for 29 years, and have owned various Rivera, Marshall, Fender, H & K, Mesa, and Peavey tube amps, (various modeling/SS amps, and rack gear), and now own a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia. Now, it is a single channel amp without features, but is by FAR the best clean tone I've ever gotten, and it costs $1049 new. Contrary to what sixtonoize said, nothing I've owned out from a store sounds "90-95% as good and costs 1/5 the price". I also now have a Fulltone OCD, one of the best if not THE best OD pedal I've ever heard, and again, nothing I've found sounds "90-95% as good and costs 1/5 the price" ($159 new). So, I have a GREAT (not just very good) two channel amp setup for around $1200. I think people put "boutique" gear under this umbrella that they all cost $3,000 and are unreachable. Simply not true. I'm running an OCD into a Dr. Z as well Soon it's going to be a Catalinbread DLS into the Dr. Z though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scott K Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 I'm running an OCD into a Dr. Z as well Soon it's going to be a Catalinbread DLS into the Dr. Z though. Win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wiseblood Posted May 14, 2009 Members Share Posted May 14, 2009 dirty little secret, i have to get ahold of one of those to check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members akapuli Posted May 15, 2009 Members Share Posted May 15, 2009 I have GAS for a Bogner Duende, just can't justify it enough :-D I also tried once a Boutique version of the Tweed Deluxe, a bit bigger wattage and reverb. It sounded like a dream, but the resale values are never great for these. Marble amps from Netherlands if you're interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdgeOfDarkness Posted May 15, 2009 Members Share Posted May 15, 2009 Totally subjective. But I'd say dollar-for-dollar, the majority of guitar players would be best off with your standard fender, marshall, peavey, mesa, etc., depending on what they need out of the amp. The "boutique" brands are still good and all, but if i'm spending my own hard-earned cash, I'm not going to spend double for a boutique name. Splawns cost less than some of the new marshalls 2,199.99 for A JCM800 ? http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-JCM800-2203-Vintage-Series-100W-Tube-Head?sku=482713&src=3WWRWXGB&ZYXSEM=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bruther_Bill72 Posted May 15, 2009 Members Share Posted May 15, 2009 No one has mentioned economies of scale here. The average guitar center location probably sells more marshalls in a year than boutique manufacturers sell amps period. The profit margins on Marshall amps are small by comparison. Marshall also has huge marketing, distribution, endorsement and R&D overhead. The parts that go into the marshall are also cheaper because they're bought in larger quanties. So you drop $500 on a marshall, that amp probably costs less than $100 to actually produce. Marshall also has oodles of employees. Now look at a boutique shop. The sales of fewer amps must cover a lot of overhead (shop costs, higher quality parts bought in smaller quantities, R&D, etc.). These smaller shops still need to market their products, albeit to a lesser extent....they still need to let potential buyers know they're out there. Then they must pay all employees and then they must turn a profit in order to be a viable business. Marshall is a profitable business by only averaging a profit of $25 or less per amp. A boutique shop probably needs to profit $1000 or more per amp to maintain itself as a business. Why do people buy expensive hand-built Italian sports cars? Why do people buy tailored suits? I like the idea of having someone who is passionate about being the best he or she can be at something. I like buying something hand made in the USA. I like the idea of small business. I like the idea of my amp being built with a lot of TLC on a workbench rather than an assembly line. I also really liked the tone of one particular Bad Cat in the store, so I bought it. I also like the value in mass-produced amps, so I also have a couple of Vox CCs, a marshall and a fender. At the end of the day, it's all so subjective. Comparing mass-produced amps to boutique builders is apples and oranges. Keep in mind that Matchless, the original "boutique" amp that comes to everyone's mind, was not a profitable business and went out of business for years. I'd also like to point out the HCAF is full of people dissing boutique amps (many of which never played one) and saying that their _____ is just as good. It's also full of threads people discussing ways to make their ____ better by upgrading transformers, caps, tubes, etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thamel Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 I agree with the previous post. I mean, I can't see amps being mass produced on a line.... Did you ever look into the guts of an amp? Take the bogner alchemist combo: http://en.audiofanzine.com/guitar-combo-amplifier/bogner/Alchemist-112/reviews/#pages I can't really see a machine assembling something like this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timmyfirst Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 i've been trying to find an amp to better my Marshall for many years but none of the high end gear that i've owned really seemed to cut it.I paid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zozobra Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 As others have said, boutique doesnt necessarily mean expensive. A matamp GT1 will run you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaXu Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 I agree with the previous post. I mean, I can't see amps being mass produced on a line.... Did you ever look into the guts of an amp? Take the bogner alchemist combo:http://en.audiofanzine.com/guitar-combo-amplifier/bogner/Alchemist-112/reviews/#pagesI can't really see a machine assembling something like this... Um, the Bogner Alchemist is built in China, most likely using a wave solder machine and a machine that lays the components on the boards - not unlike Mesa does actually. Of course there's most likely someone cramming the parts into the chassis and plugging in the connectors but other than that it's machine made and there's nothing wrong with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 i wonder why anyone would compare a 'boutique' amp to a supermodel. not like they're that much more expensive new, and they sure aren't any more fuss to maintain than any other tube amps. i dunno. maybe a boutique high gainer is.. but the amps i mess with are pretty simple critters. i find that modern mesas and marshalls have TOO many options, and it muddles the mission.. getting sound out of your guitar without mucking it up. i kinda prefer LESS stuff-- and the big manufacturers are making their newer amps more and more swiss army knife, when i'd prefer a hammer. not universally, naturally.. theres simpler designs by all of them-- and some of the big guys are trying to release some of their 'heritage' lines to make old timers happy. comes down to what your needs are i spose. mine are pretty limited, and power needs are way smaller than most-- so the people catering to that are the smaller builders. if the big guns aren't meeting my needs-- i guess there's no reason to go that route-- and even if it costs a little more to buy from a small builder with a name (and who remembers MINE) to get an amp that does what i'd like it to-- i think i'd prefer to go that way anyhow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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